OREANDA-NEWS. Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MYE), a leading provider of highly engineered material handling solutions and tire repair and retread products to industrial end markets, today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Financial Highlights

  • Net sales for the third quarter of 2015 decreased 12.6% (or 7.9% excluding currency fluctuation), compared to the third quarter of 2014, to $141.7 million due to continued weak demand in the Material Handling Segment's agricultural end market.
  • Gross profit margin for the third quarter of 2015 increased (470 basis points), compared to the third quarter of 2014, to 29.4% driven by cost reduction activities and strategic pricing actions.
  • Adjusted income per diluted share from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2015 increased by 28.6%, compared to the third quarter of 2014, from $0.07 to $0.09. For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, adjusted income per diluted share increased by 25.6%, compared to the same period in 2014, from $0.43 to $0.54.
  • Repurchased $12 million (or 848,586 shares) of common stock at an average price of $14.18 during the third quarter of 2015.
  • During the quarter, additional stock compensation expense was incurred for retirement eligible employees as defined by the Company's executive stock compensation plan, which resulted in a $0.03 reduction to earnings per share in the quarter.

President and Chief Executive Officer John C. Orr commented, “The decline in our Material Handling Segment’s third quarter 2015 sales was primarily due to the impact of weak demand in the agricultural end market, the strengthening dollar and the previously disclosed customer acceleration of orders that took place in the second quarter. Excluding the impacts of foreign currency, we did see strong sales growth in other material handling products, including increases of products that serve food processing and automotive end markets. We are also pleased with our ability to drive profitability improvements in the business despite lower sales during the quarter. Adjusted earnings per diluted share for the third quarter increased as a result of ongoing cost saving initiatives and strategic pricing actions, and we've generated positive cash flow from continuing operations of $7.1 million year-to-date compared to a use of operating cash flow in the prior year period. We believe that our continued focus on these initiatives combined with the growth investments we are making, provide a strong foundation for sustained profitability improvement and earnings growth in the future."